Married again and again

"Lena, your husband still hasn't answered your calls, has he?" Maia Gordon asked with concern.

Lena Dixon detected her colleague's unspoken pity.

Each unanswered ring seemed to hollow her out further, dragging Lena deeper into the bleak realization.

Just two days ago, Lena had visited an art gallery to oversee preparations for her husband's upcoming exhibit. Without warning, the ceiling had collapsed, leaving her trapped beneath debris for agonizing hours, desperately calling her husband Theo Haynes without response.

When rescuers finally freed her, she was drenched in her own blood, her shoulder shattered so gravely it required metal screws to hold it together. Even now, every beat of her heart echoed painfully in her wounded shoulder.

Lena stared at the dark screen of her phone. Her face looked ghostly pale, fingers trembling uncontrollably from lingering trauma.

But the deepest pain wasn't from her physical injuries. It came from the icy realization stabbing through her heart.

Whenever Lena desperately needed Theo, he always vanished.

Witnessing Lena's quiet suffering, Maia couldn't hold back her frustration. "What's wrong with your husband, anyway? You could've died, yet he can't even call you back after two days? You're getting discharged, and he is yet to show up. You might as well be single at this rate."

With quiet sarcasm, Lena murmured, "He's probably too tied up."

Theo always used work as a shield—too occupied, always unavailable.

Three years spent married to him, and all Lena had gained was an empty title, one she clung to foolishly.

Maia's tone sharpened. "Too tied up to even answer his phone? That's not busy—that's cold-hearted."

Her words sliced Lena deeply, cutting through the last remnants of her illusions.

Lena swallowed her bitterness, forcing a smile far more painful than tears.

Suddenly, Maia gasped, her eyes widening at something on her phone. "Oh, wow. Lena, look—seems like the ever-elusive Mr. Haynes took an international flight just to attend his girl's art exhibition. Dropped everything just for her."

A chill clawed up Lena's spine.

Maia handed over the phone, openly scoffing, "Take a good look at Mr. Haynes. Compare him with your husband. You nearly died, and your husband didn't even care to answer a single call. Lena, why are you still holding onto someone like him?"

Lena stared wordlessly, frozen by the screen's glow.

Maia had no idea—the Mr. Haynes she spoke of was Lena's cold-hearted husband.

At that instant, Lena's carefully crafted delusions shattered. Theo's supposed business trip was a total lie. He had traveled halfway around the world for his first love, Violet Ford.

Back then, Theo and Violet had seemed destined to marry.

Then a car crash robbed Theo of his sight, and Violet fled abroad, leaving him at his most vulnerable.